NZ pop star Lorde finds herself at the centre of an ugly sexism row ahead of the 2018 Grammy awards, after she was reportedly denied the chance to perform solo at the ceremony.

While the singer's fellow Album of the Year nominees – all male – were given the opportunity to perform their own songs at the show, the same offer wasn't extended to Lorde, Variety reports.

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The singer was instead approached by the show's producers to take part in a group tribute to late rocker Tom Petty which she declined, the publication says.

Lorde is the only female artist nominated in the crowning best album category, alongside R&B star Bruno Mars and rappers Childish Gambino, Jay-Z and Kendrick Lamar. It's the first time since 1999 that the category hasn't included a white male artist.

The awkward revelation regarding her onstage shut-out has ignited conversation about the Grammys' gender bias, especially in the wake of a major study on pop music's lack of female representation released last week.

The report, published by the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative, found a glaring discrepancy in the number of female musicians and producers honoured by the Grammys, with just 9.3 per cent of Grammy nominees in the past five years being women.

Lorde's mother Sonja Yelich appeared to hint at the reason behind her daughter's Grammys no-show, taking to Twitter to highlight a New York Times article on those figures.

Lorde is up for the one prize at the ceremony, being held at Madison Square Garden today, for her hit album Melodrama. Rapper Jay-Z leads the field with eight nominations, while R&B star SZA is the most nominated woman with five nods.

Sia, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, dance trio Mansionair and Hillsong Worship are the only Australians up for prizes.